Permira lines up £500m sale of accounting arm at Evelyn Partners

The private equity owner of Evelyn Partners is preparing to split up the wealth manager by selling off its professional services arm, as it looks to cash in on a wave of investor interest in the sector.
Permira, the buyout giant, is hoping to fetch more than £500 million by selling the division, which includes the business once known as Smith & Williamson. It provides professional services including accounting and tax advice.
It is understood that Evercore, the investment bank, has been appointed to lead the process, which is expected to kick off in the coming weeks.
Evelyn Partners, which employs about 4,000 people, is one of the UK’s largest wealth managers, with about £62.2 billion of assets under management. Permira intends to retain the wealth management division, which generates most of Evelyn Partners’ sales.
The planned sale comes amid mounting private equity interest in the professional services sector. Permira is among the buyout firms that are in the process of bidding for Grant Thornton, Britain’s sixth-largest accountancy firm, which is selling a 60 per cent stake. Carlyle, Cinven and CVC are also among the private equity firms jostling for a stake in Grant Thornton.
London-based Evelyn Partners, led by former Direct Line boss Paul Geddes, was built up through a series of mergers between investment management and professional services firms. The process began when Permira bought Bestinvest, an online wealth manager, in 2014 and merged it with its competitor, Tilney.
In 2020 Warburg Pincus, another buyout firm, came on board as an investor, providing capital to finance a merger between Tilney and Smith & Williamson, with the combined business being renamed Evelyn Partners.
Permira owns about 56 per cent of Evelyn Partners and Warburg Pincus holds another quarter. The rest is owned by current and former staff.
Permia and Evelyn Partners declined to comment.